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I started down this path in June '98 when I first saw The Last of the Mohicans on TV; I had never seen it before, even though it came out in 1992. I was fascinated by the movie and the people and the history and the movie site and the real historical location––in a nutshell, everything. I found answers to dozens of questions on the incredibly extensive and all-encompassing website On The Trail of The Last of the Mohicans which is owned and powered by Rich and Elaine Federici of Mohican Press. This website is devoted to a huge number of topics related to the movie and the book and the real history. This site has SO MUCH information and knowledge, that my interest grew with each page I read. I owe Rich and Elaine a million thanks for all the great stuff on their site, for their incredible energy in managing the site and the discussion board, but also for organizing the annual Mohican Gatherings at the filmsite, the second of which I attended in July of '99 (you can see those pictures via the main page of the Mohican Press site). (I got so hooked on the movie, especially the music, that I spent many months in 1999 analyzing the soundtrack on the CD and in the various video cassette versions, which you can read about on the Mohican Press Mohicanland Musical Musings.) I discovered that the real history took place up the Hudson River from
where I lived in lower Westchester Co., NY.
I first visited Fort William Henry with LOTM colleague Donna Deslaurier.
Clabert convinced us to stay after the battle for dinner and whatever else (including the Indians' lacrosse game), but we had to be in period clothing. Donna and I went shopping at the sutlers' tents, found a 1750's sale rack, and bought some basics to allow us to stay. That was so entertaining and a great deal of fun. Through Clabert, we met one of the Rangers, Wayne Mee, who introduced us to other Rangers, including Don Keleher who has been very good to me. (Don is talented with working with leather and building period furniture, and he trades or sells a variety of quality hand-made period wood and leather goods.) A few weeks later, we went to the Grand Encampment at Crown Point in August, where we met a historian of Rogers' Rangers and the F&I war, Major George Bray (of another company of Rogers' Rangers). George has been doing F&I re-enactment for more than two decades––he knows the F&I inside and out and is widely recognized by authors and others as a leading expert. George was "interpreting" for the people there what was going on, so that visitors understood what they were seeing. He is also the Site Historian for the Mohican Press website and has been very helpful to me. Also at the Crown Point event was the first Ranger we had met, Wayne Mee with his son Jason. Other people I met there include Jon Soule, Horst Dresler, and Deb Goodman. Jon eventually became my very first commander, as you will see if you read on. Horst Dresler and Deb Goodman are two people who live this hobby so completely that when they were married in the summer of 1999, they had a wedding ceremony in period attire at the Grand Encampment at Fort Louisbourg. Here are two pictures from Deb and Horst's 18th century wedding. By the way, it was when I first met Deb Goodman at Crown Point that I realized I could be a soldier if I wanted to, that I didn't have to be "female", since being a soldier looked like much more fun. Deb is normally a commander with the Bearn French Regulars, while Horst leads the British group of James Rogers' Company of Rogers' Rangers for the F&I events and Ruiter's Company of the King's Rangers, for Revolutionary War events. This is the ranger group Don and Wayne "run with", as they put it. This is confusing, isn't it? For clarification: my group does Robert
Rogers' Own Company for F&I and Capt. Asariah Pritchard's Company of King's
Rangers for the Revolutionary War. Horst's group does James' Rogers company
for F&I and Ruiter's Company of King's Rangers for Rev War. After Crown Point, I started looking for units to join, as a Ranger, but got a couple of rejections from units that don't take females as soldiers, because it's not authentic. Next, for me at least, was going to watch the event at Pound Ridge, NY. That was when Don Keleher introduced me to Rogers' Rangers' Major Mike Fitzgerald (who you can see on the Rogers' Rangers website). Major Mike, with Don and long-time Ranger Greg Geiger, helped me get fitted out in enough clothes and stuff to do battle; half of the reason I wanted to wear the men's clothing was that it was too cold for the little amount of women's clothing I had. That, and Don thought it would be good for me if I wanted to join a Ranger unit. Not that I really meant to do battle; they threw a musket in my hands ("I don't believe in guns," I kept saying), they showed me how it worked ("Is that all there is to it? I can do that!") and next thing I knew I was in the battle. Even though it was an F&I event, I went out in Don's Rev War Ranger's coat and leggings and shirt, with my jeans and modern shoes. I went out to fight with the French under the command of Jon Soule, as the French were short-handed. Jon Soule told me recently that he wanted me to join the French side (which I never knew) but he instead told the Major that I was "good to go", and the Major agreed to take me on. It was Major Mike, by the way, who latched onto the name "Chauncey Goodrich" when I offered up the first male family name I could think of, and he simply wouldn't let go of it. Thus, it is I, or I am he! By that time, I was hooked, and 1999 ended with me preparing to be voted in by the group as a whole and to start the '00 season. This hobby is like quicksand; dip your toe into it and it sucks you right in. I was hooked not only on the history and the fun, but the incredibly nice people! My thanks to all of them and I can't wait to meet more!!
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Then, in June we went to the Grand Encampment at Fort Ticonderoga, which
I read about on the Fort's website. There we up with another person from
the Mohican Press website who was actually taking part in the event, 
A third unit does